For those sitting at home, wondering how Bonnaroo kids survive on practically no sleep for the entirety of the fest, the answer is simple: it’s too hot to sleep. Though most had been up until 4 a.m. Friday night with LCD Soundsystem, the humidity made it hard to sleep past 7 a.m. Which kind of sucked because there wasn’t too much going on at Bonnaroo until the early afternoon. And it especially sucked because the day was only going to get hotter.

The high temps didn’t damper the spirits of Pennsylvania’s Langhorne Slim. Langhorne Slim is like a non-pop version of Jason Mraz, which I would argue, is the better version. Langhorne’s music was laid back folk rock. Even the surprise appearance of a little kid dancing around the stage didn’t disrupt their good-mood. In fact, it improved it. Langhorne incorporated the kid into the act, dancing with him, lowering a mic to his height and even giving him a high five. Adorable.

Next, it was time for perhaps one of the biggest buzz acts of the fest: Conan O’Brien. Conan’s band performed an introductory jam that had them all out playing their saxophones and trumpets out in the audience, and giving high fives in between notes. The band returned to their spots and a video appeared projecting Conan: bearded and in a fat suit. He looked like Santa’s cousin. The video followed Conan around looking miserable and being depressed: he was eating junk, ignoring his daughter, etc. But then he gets a call: “Want to do a tour? Are you in shape?” Within moments, the beard was trimmed and the fat suit dropped. Then Conan himself appeared in the flesh. The jokes were a mix of being kicked off TV quips and jokes about Bonnaroo…and of course, some that combined both:

“In six months, I’ve gone from hosting the Tonight Show to performing at a refuge camp.”

The set was also highlighted by the appearance of Andy Richter, Dion Cole, a Triumph the Insult Dog video message, and of course, the infamous Walker Texas Ranger clips. Although, the Walker clips did inspire the audience to chant “aids, aids, aids,” which might not be the most appropriate thing ever. Other cute moments included when Conan took the time to take a picture with a fan in the front row.

This being a music festival, there were also plenty of musical aspects, too. Joke songs and White Stripes covers (just two days before, Conan recorded a live album with Jack White). There was even Meatloaf’s bat out of hell inflatable. Hideously awesome.

When the show ended, the audience demanded more, so Team Coco obliged with a cover of The Band’s “The Weight.” During an instrumental break, Conan went out to give hugs and high fives to the audience. A nice gesture, but one that almost got him killed as people swarmed him for a chance to touch that infamous red hair. But he handled it well and was all smiles as 15 minutes later he worked his way back to the stage. Too funny; too cute.

When I came out from the Comedy Theatre, the soulful singer and pianist Norah Jones was performing on the Which Stage. Unfortunately for the talented writer, her tunes aren’t the best to experience in the sun outdoors. They became swallowed up in the dead air and she became more like bore – ah Jones, not Norah.

Disappointed with Jones, I returned back to the trusty comedy tent to catch the Bonnaroo Roast with Roastmaster Jeffrey Ross. Ross did a funky walk out to to some jam music freezing to point at an audience member, “Ugly,” then the sign interpreter at the front, “Deaf,” then himself, “Fat,” before going up to twirl with his attractive female stagehand, “Yeah.” The Roast was pretty funny and Jeff took the time to make fun of Bonnaroo bands, people in the audience, himself and even the heads of Superfly productions: “Nice work, guys. Really. You got thousands and thousands of people to come, but only have seven bars of soap.” He even took a jab at Jay-Z: “Think he’ll perform Empire State of Mind for like the millionth time? Always ripping off “New York State of Mind. He’s not Jay-Z. He’s fucking lazy.” Also, I must say, that sign interpreters have the hardest job at the fest. The comedians sure put this interpreter through some uncomfortable hand gestures.

As fun as it was to take a laugh at ourselves, I ventured out of the Roast a little early to catch some of the talented Avett Brothers. They’ve got some beautiful harmonies going with their blend of bluegrass rock and I love their use of strings on their songs.

The Avett Brothers by Joshua Hammond

Speaking of great harmonies, Mumford and Sons owned That Tent with their performance. The UK group absolutely blew me away and I think it is just a matter of time before these labelmates of Phoenix blow up. They play pretty mellow folk music a la Noah and the Whale style, but they still brought plenty of rock, with one member lifting his upright bass above his head while playing it…those things aren’t light. The band seemed to be having a great time and so did the audience. This was just one of those feel good performances and perhaps one of my top performances of the fest.

Jack White’s current project, The Dead Weather, with The Kills‘ Allison Mosshart soon took over the What Stage. Jack White primarly plays drums in this project, proving that the man can and will do absolutely everything in music with near perfection. He does come out from behind the set to sing and even play guitar. However, with how big of a name as White is, Mosshart was the star. The woman prowled the stage while singing, cigarette down to her side, making her look and even soundlike the classic movie image of those smoky lounge singers – and I do mean that as a compliment. I love how her voice fits into this southern rock style. In fact, I like her much more in this than I do in the Kills, and from the looks of it, she seems to enjoy this more, too.

Weezer is not how you typical think of rockers, with their frontman Rivers Cuomo being a Harvard graduate and a stereotypical image of a geek as opposed to one of those high school drop out rock stars that don the leather jackets and always have a flask of Jack Daniels at their side. But I’m glad this band has managed to defy stereotypes to become one of the biggest, and longest lasting groups around. Almost every song in their very long set list has been successful on the radio – these guys just know how to write a catchy tune. Their set was also improved by the change that has come over Rivers in the last six years. When I first saw the band in 2005, though the songs were familiar and catchy, the performance was stale. The band just did not seem into it. Now, six years later, it is like they’re a whole new band. Rivers has a renewed energy and wonderment – almost like a kid at an amusement park. “Hello, plane. Hello, plane with banner behind that plane!” shouted Rivers. At another point, he stole the camera from a photog in the pit and snapped a crowd shot. Then, his quirkiness hit a new extreme during the encore when the band played a mash of “Kids” by MGMT and “Poker Face,” by Lady Gaga. When he got to the Gaga lyrics, Rivers put on a blonde wig and began thrashing around. Hilarious. I love when music is simply fun.

Weezer by Joshua Hammond

Speaking of fun, how about the epicness that is Stevie Wonder? The crowd at Bonnaroo tends to run a little younger, so the demographic here kind of missed out on Wonder’s prime, but that doesn’t mean everyone wasn’t still excited about the legend’s performance. I think everyone was surprised by how many of the tunes we all knew and Wonder did a great job of helping the crowd singalong.

Kanye. This is how it is done. Rapper Jay-Z started about ten minutes late. That’s it. And it was Stevie Wonder’s fault for starting his set late. Then Jay-Z played a set full of his hits and he was nice about it. No attitude. He thanked Wonder, fellow artists like Alicia Keys for their help on his record. We bounced with him. We froze him. We sang with him. It was great. The only disappointment was that with Beyonce side stage for all the set, it was a bit of a bummer that she didn’t come out and join him for any of the female vocal spots on his tunes. It’s not like we were promised that, but it would have been cool.

Jay-Z by Joshua Hammond

As hard as it was to part from Jay-Z, there will some other great performances getting ready to start over at the tents.Thievery Corporation got people dancing with a blend of India-influenced DJ beats and their singer’s strong vocals amping the crowd up. However, this performance couldn’t even begin to compare to the crazy dance parties that were about to erupt over at This Tent.

Dan Deacon Ensemble was interesting to say the least. The stage was covered with xylophones and drums and keyboards as well as a glowing, green skull. Like I said, interesting. Before even playing a song, Dan Deacon tried to put everyone in the same mood: “Put your fist in the air. Then point your finger. Now put your left foot just behind your right foot. Now rock back and forth. Now rock down so you’re on your knees.” We all obliged, chuckling. Well, we all obliged save one guy in a white hat: “Too cool for this,” said Deacon. “Everyone point at this guy. Now stare at this guy.” It was weird, but bizarrely fun. After this “crowd bonding” moment was over, the ensemble finally exploded into their crazy dance jams. At some point in your life, go see Dan Deacon with the full ensemble. It will probably blow your mind and be one of the best moments of your life.

Dan Deacon wasn’t the only one with crazy stage theatrics. Gwar was playing a stage over from Deacon. The nordically clothed rockers began with a video history of their odd inception. Then the costumed warriors appeared, showering everyone in waves of blood and rock. Even the Bonnaroo Fountain got in on the crazy Gwar action and was turned red for the night with LED lights.

But for those wanting to dance into the twilight hours, the party was at This Tent. DJ Deadmau5 was playing the his beats well past 5 a.m. to an enthusiastic crowd covered in glow sticks. The mysterious Deadmau5 wore giant mouse ears and sat high up on the stage in DJ booth. It was like he was the electronic lord and we were his dancing minions. He held such power. With a raise of his arms, we’d dance harder and faster. He was still going strong by the time I finally made it back to my tent to rest for the final day of Bonnaroo.

Check back for more photos and recaps from Bonnaroo. View a recap of Thursday here and a recap of Friday here.

It seems like yesterday that Horehound was released. But hard rock super group the Dead Weather featuring Alison Mosshart and Jack White on vocals are back with a new album, Sea of Cowards, and will be playing the forthcoming album in full live on their MySpace on May 3. The “show” begins at 5 p.m. CDT.

Watch the video for ‘Die by the Drop’, the first single from the new album, below. Sea of Cowards will be released May 11 in America and can pre-ordered through several different retailers. For more information, please visit the Dead Weather’s official Web site.

The Dead Weather: website | myspace | listening parties and tour dates | Horehound review | @ Sandstone @ Capitol Fed Park

Alternative rocker Jack White is not one to sit idle, nor is Hip hop music mogul Jay Z. The two constantly have new solo and group projects in the works and for the first time their musical giant paths have converged.

In a recent interview with GQ, Jack White revealed that he just recorded a new song with Jay Z:

“We did a song together a few weeks ago. It was incredible. I played him something that I’ve been kicking around for a while and he immediately came out with words for it. It’s unbelievable sounding.”

Both are set to appear at this year’s Bonnaroo music festival. Could a special live performance of the tune be in the works as well? We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

No word on the song’s release yet, but we’ll definitely keep you posted as it is sure to be epic.

Crash Kings are a trio that could be mistaken for a side project of Jack White mixed with a little Cold War Kids and even a surprise dash of Queen, which actually makes them a refreshingly unique sound that’s still familiar enough to give you warm fuzzies when a tune of theirs pops up on the radio. With the success of “Mountain Man” on the airwaves, a tour with JET and SXSW upcoming, bassist Mike Beliveau took some time to talk to PopWreckoning about the band’s rise, dream tours and sports.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: Hi. How are you today Mike?
Mike Beliveau, Crash Kings: I’m alright. I’m getting a little sick, but doing alright.
PW: Oh no. Maybe you’ll feel better not that you have a nice day in the Midwest – you’re in Omaha tonight.
MB: Yeah. We’re on our way over to the venue to load in right now.
PW: Ok. Let’s start at the beginning. I know the three of you were in other bands before, but you were still together. How did you go from those bands into becoming the Crash Kings?
MB: Tony (vox) and I are brothers, so we’ve been playing music together since we were teenagers in high school. We had a band in high school and then Tony went off to college in Texas, but I convinced him to move back to Boston to start up a band again in college. We had two bands together and then Tony met Jason, our drummer, while on tour with Sierra Swan. They were backing her. She’s a singer/songwriter. That’s how we met Jason. So, when we were recording the Crash Kings together, Tony suggested Jason as our drummer and it was pretty much perfect from the start and a great fit. So we went with it.
PW: Ok, I think somehow I got confused and thought Jason had been in the bands before with both you and Tony from online reading.
MB: Yeah, well Tony and Jason had been in a band before from touring backing Sierra Swan. I wasn’t in that band, no.

PW: I also read you guys used to do more jazz sort of music. How’d you go from that to what you’re doing now? Was it a natural progression?
MB: Actually, we went from rock to jazz back to rock. Crash Kings, I’ve always thought of it as a return to our roots. When we were in high school, we were very much a rock sort of band and Tony was singing. Our band in college, we decided to do a more sort of jazz/artsy/organ trio thing without vocals. We were just always experiment and pushing ourselves as much as we could with odd meters and different keyboards. Tony got into playing organ and Rhodes and different synthesizers. It was pretty much all experimentation with that band. It was called Odion. And then Tony started writing songs again that were rock songs and it seemed like a great idea to have a rock band again. That’s pretty much it. So yeah, it was natural for us to play rock again. It wasn’t out of our natural vain of writing. We grew up on it.

PW: One of the first things that I think people notice when they see you live is that you have a clavinet with a whammy bar. How did you come up with the idea for a whammy bar on this keyboard basically?
MB: It’s kind of a, well the instrument found us in a lucky moment. Tony was going to borrow a keyboard from a friend and ended up with this great keyboard because they couldn’t find the original one that they were looking for, so he brought this back to the studio and was like, “Hey, Mike. You have to come check this thing out. It’s crazy. It has a whammy bar.” It’s a pretty rare thing. So we got to the studio and were both like, “Woah.” The ideas for the instrument started forming; we can distort this thing or make it sound like guitar. Basically what it is, it’s an electric guitar in a keyboard format. It has guitar strings and the whammy bar is a classic element of a guitar, so we thought it would work great in a rock band. That’s how that instrument came to be in our band.

PW: There are only three of you in the Crash Kings, so I notice you get a lot of Muse comparisons, but it almost seems to be by default as in here’s one threesome, must be like another. I’m not sure I get that as much. What do you think of that comparison, are there other bands that you think is a more apt comparison or would cite as influences?
MB: You can compare us to Muse because we’re a power trio: a rock power trio. Those elements are there. I think the songwriting is quite different and the lyrics are quite different. We’re fans of Muse and we think they’re doing great things. They brought an element to rock and roll that wasn’t there before. It’s big and they’ve got a big sound and that’s kind of what we’re going for. I can see how people would compare us to them, but people compare us to other bands as well. I don’t know who I’d want to be compared to, but I always love hearing when people compare us to bands that I like. So when people say, “Oh, you sound like Muse,” that makes sense to me. We listen to Muse and we like Muse. If they say a band that I don’t like, then I’m like, “Oh no. We don’t listen to that. Why would we get that comparison?” Everyone makes comparisons, but you end up sounding like your own in the end.

PW: Ok. If you could do a dream tour with your favorite bands, who would you bring on that—living or dead?
MB: We’d love to open for Led Zeppelin.
PW: I could see that.
MB: Another band…Muse would be a great band to open for, kind of a dream, current band.

PW: Ok, you’re about to go out on tour with JET and you’re hitting up SXSW, do you have like a festival or tour survival kit? Like do you have essentials that you have to have with you on the road?
MB: Essentials is exactly what it is. We try to not bring too much stuff. The essentials are just what you’d think they are: clothes and toiletries. Something unique to the band…it’s hard to say. Water? Five-hour energy! That’s a good one. A lot of times, we’re driving through the night and that helps whomever is driving stay up through the night. Cough drops. Those are kind of essentials.

PW: What are some of the advantages of playing with your brother in a band and what are some of the disadvantages of playing with your brother in a band?
MB: Musically, there are no disadvantages. It’s just pretty much that Tony is my favorite person to play music with because we know each other so well. I know exactly what he’s going to do almost before he does it. We just have a strong chemistry that way. We have very close musical influences, so when it comes to writing and arranging the songs, we can do it pretty easily 99 percent of the time. Musically, it is great. A disadvantage, as anybody that has a sibling knows, there’s always sibling rivalry. We always end up getting at each other’s throats at times, but we’ve grown in that a little bit and found ways of being tolerant of each other. It can get hairy, as you can imagine, with your sibling on the road. You find little things that bother you that wouldn’t bother you in anywhere else.
PW: Haha, yeah. I have siblings. I love them, but I can’t imagine touring with them.
MB: Haha, yeah.

PW: I know that you and Tony are both really big into skiing, but I don’t think Jason is quite as much – I think I read that during the “Mountain Man” video that Jason hung out in the lodge drinking cocoa rather than ski—However, with winter drawing to a close, do you have summer sports that you’re really into?
MB: Yeah. Tony and I are both surfers, but we’re not as big surfers as we are skiers. We love going out into the water. Tony loves to mountain bike and got me into it recently, so mountain biking is sort of our summer skiing. It’s pretty similar: going down a mountain and all that. Those sports and I’ll take part in a game of soccer every once in awhile.

PW: Nice. Is there anything that you wish people knew about your band that they don’t now and you’d like to share while you have this open forum?
MB: Um. Good question. Maybe people don’t know that we don’t use any backing tracks in our band, which is becoming more and more common with bands these days. One thing we try to do with our band is keep it really raw, simple and alive. So everything you’re hearing at the live show is what’s being played on stage. Not that that’s better or worse, but I think it actually makes our band unique these days because so many bands do use backing tracks today. We try to keep an old school feel like you’re getting an old school live performance.
PW: Nice. That is good to know and it really becoming so common with the backing tracks that people are probably just assuming that bands are using them. It shows in your live show, too. I saw you a few weeks ago with OK Go and it was more raw and authentic. It was better than hearing you on the radio.
MB: Yeah. Excellent.
PW: Well, I know you’re trying to do load-in, so I’ll let you go do that.
MB: Thank-you very much.
PW: Thank-you, feel better and have a great show tonight.

Though it’s been awhile since the last the White Stripes show, as of March 16, fans will be able to enjoy the White Stripes live from the comfort of their living rooms.

The White Stripes are releasing their first-ever official live album of 16 songs recorded during their 2007 Canadian tour on both vinyl and CD (full track list below). This was the tour where they planned to perform in every province and territory in that nation. In addition to the live CD, they’re including a DVD release of their 10th anniversary show as well as a DVD of the Emmett Malloy documentary, Under Great White Northern Lights. The CD/DVD box set is officially released March 16 in various packages on whitestripes.com.

In celebration of the release, we’re giving away a copy of Under Great White Northern Lights DVD and the live CD. To win, correctly answer the following question by Monday, March 15 at 12 p.m. CDT: During their 2007 Canadian tour, the White Stripes set a world record by doing what in St. John’s, Newfoundland? We’ll pick one winner from the correct answers.

Track Listing:
1. Let’s Shake Hands
2. Black Math
3. Little Ghost
4. Blue Orchid
5. The Union Forever
6. Ball and Biscuit
7. Icky Thump
8. I’m Slowly Turning Into You
9. Jolene
10. 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues
11. We Are Going to Be Friends
12. I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself
13. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
14. Fell In Love With a Girl
15. When I Hear My Name
16. Seven Nation Army

Don’t forget that Under Great White Northern Lights is screening at U.S. theaters beginning March 11, at midnight! Check here to find a showing near you. Can’t find one? Apply to host your own.

Say what you will about Jack White…but there’s no denying the fact that his Energizer mind works in marvelous ways. After seeing It Might Get Loud earlier this year it became clear to me, and maybe only me, that he is a consummate artist. We watched him pull inspiration from the far reaches of music’s history, pay homage to the deep, Southern soul at the heart of his work, and experiment with heavy, disparate metallic howls in the upstairs attic of an abandoned Victorian home, in the same way that a mad scientist might tamper with boiling beakers—deranged and raw.

2010 will see White return to the mixer in the role of producer. Remember that fantastic album he made in 2004, Van Lear Rose, with Loretta Lynn? This time around White intends to reinvent the touted “Queen of Rockabilly,” Wanda Jackson, a one-time tour mate and lover of Elvis Presley, a dynamic collaboration that is sure to feed the “little bit o’ Country, little bit o’ Rock and Roll” thing that White does so well. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and make this my first “most anticipated release” for 2010.

With the summer fog and windy chill separating the locals from the ill-prepared tourists, day 3 of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park had both moments of brilliance and powerful performances across the festival’s seven stages. If you missed day 1 or day 2, check them out now!

Matt & Kim
Almost too happy for their own good, the duo of Matt and Kim bounced through their Casio-infused set including “Daylight” and “I Wanna.”

The Dead Weather
All of the elements were in place for The Dead Weather’s mid-tempo performance on Sunday afternoon. The weather was indeed dead and gloomy and The Kills’ Alison Mosshart’s vocals were bluesy, primal and raw. While Jack White, pulling double-duty on drums and vocals, fits the personality of the band perfectly, he was overshadowed by Alison’s powerful onstage presence.

Modest Mouse
Proving that plaid may just be the new black, Modest Mouse played their set, curiously skipping their most radio-friendly tune “Float On.” While the show was enjoyable, I found that I would rather have a Modest Mouse experience which includes a comfy chair, good headphones and a copy of The Moon & Antarctica.

Loop!Station
Performing their third brilliant set in three days, Loop!Station shared part of their show with performers from the Vau de Vire Society.

Ween
Ween’s hard-core fans were out in large numbers to see the free-spirited absurdist-rockers on Sunday. Filling the spot occupied by Primus at last year’s fest, Dean Ween and Gene Ween (Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman) showed their cred as gifted guitarists.

M.I.A.
After her bratty reaction to the announcement of Tenacious D as replacement headliners for the Beastie Boys on the final day of festivities, M.I.A.’s performance did little to improve her image. M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) failed to generate much enthusiasm from the crowd, even after passing out hundreds of annoying toy horns which, coincidentally, sounded just like “boo” when played en masse. It was quite fitting that Street Sweeper Social Club’s version of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was more inspired than her own.

Band of Horses
Shimmering with reverb, the Southern-tinged rock of Band of Horses was filled with warm and moving moments. Song such as “The Funeral” and “Ode to LRC” were part of a well-crafted and rousing set.

Tenacious D
Bringing skits, stunt doubles and shtick-heavy rock, Jack Black and Kyle Gass closed out the final night of the festival. After being named as replacements for Beastie Boys who dropped out due to the throat cancer diagnosis of Beastie’s Adam “MCA” Yauch, The D unleashed their “earthquake of rock” on the Bay Area.

We wish you the best, MCA!

Brendan Benson. Jack White. Raconteurs. Fame. So now that’s out of the way. On his fourth solo album, Benson continues trying to escape cult hero status and graduate to indie (if not mainstream) stardom on his own terms, evident in his choice employment of producer Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo and The Bunnymen, but also Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional) to give him his most accessible sound yet. But asides from MOFF sounding noticeably smoother than his previous work, it’s business as usual for Benson, who once again crafts a resounding batch of retro-spectable pop nuggets, second only to his work on 2002’s Lapalco.

Chunky power-chords. Witty rhymes. Stylistic homage. That’s the broken down formula for all of Benson’s solo work. The title of the album is most likely a self-conscious Benson admitting that his music is not riding any waves or cutting edges, but that its merit lies in its simple, familiar but enduring quality. And the closer to familiarity Benson gets, the more comfortable he often seems. Opener “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” of course steals its title and chorus line from the classic Byrds song of the same name, but stylistically is a punk-y rush with big Cheap Trick-style chord smacks and subtle, placed use of Terry Riley-by-way-of-The Who synthesizer swirls. “Garbage Day” unabashedly nicks its dramatic string section from the back-pages of Motown, marrying it to a song with a metaphor so tongue in cheek (“And if she throws her heart away/I’ll be there on garbage day”) that it nearly comes off as parody. The song still manages to stand as one of the album’s highlights, with its re-imagining of a classic sound giving Benson focus while not restricting him from adding modern touches line a bobbing synth line towards the song’s end.

Hooks. Hooks. Hooks. Even in songs like the Posies-esque “Eyes On The Horizon” and the funhouse-mirrored “Feel Like Taking You Home” that begin with the softest and most formulaic riffs and rhythms, Benson is never at a loss at working in a chorus or development that redeems the song through it’s sheer mathematical “poppy-ness.” At times though, because his craftsmanship is so honed in the accepted pop tradition, his choice of changes come as overly familiar and too cushiony (talking to you, “Lesson Learned”). This weakness in Benson’s writing was responsible for seriously marring his 2005 album The Alternative To Love, though its reigned in for the most part on MOFF.

Brendan Benson – “Feel Like Taking You Home”

Brendan Benson vs. Jack White. For some reason, White Stripes vinyl has become ridiculously expensive. I have a copy of Elephant that I bought probably in 04/05 for something like $16.99. If you’re looking to grab a copy of the same album on vinyl today, you’re going to be paying over $30.00. Why? Because White has fashioned his albums so stylishly and differently from one to the next, they emanate dead sexy cool with all that red, white and black. Benson’s albums are not dead sexy cool, but friendly, familiar and reliable. If Jack White were your badass rockstar boyfriend, Brendan Benson would be the good friend that you tell all your secrets to. You might not feel any passion for him, but it’s sure nice to have him around.

My Old, Familiar Friend is available now from ATO Records.

Brendan Benson: website | myspace

For anyone who has been a rock n’ roll fan for all their lives, favoring the guitar as their instrument of choice, rocking out on the couch with an air guitar or closely touching stardom as a Guitar Hero, It Might Get Loud offers an exceptional and behind the scenes look at the electric guitar and how it has been held, shaped and molded by three prominent musicians of the past thirty years.

It Might Get Loud is a rock doc showcasing the electric guitar in the hands of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge and The White Stripes/The Raconteurs/Dead Weather’s Jack White, and how each has utilized the instrument to shape the sound of their bands and define the use of the instrument as the centerpiece of rock. The title comes from a moment in the film where The Edge is about to shred some licks, warning us that “it might get loud for a second.”

Oscar winning director Davis Guggenheim does an excellent job in keeping the story far removed from the history of the bands and their prominence in rock lore; i.e. he avoids the sex, drugs, history, the Robert Plants and the Bonos and focuses solely on the three featured musicians and their personal histories with the guitar, what inspired them and how they came to define their respective signature styles.

The film is centered around a small, unscripted summit that takes place on a sound stage in Los Angeles, where The Edge, White and Page three musicians meet together for the first time for a very cool jam session, showcasing their talents and spontaneity, all the while throwing back and forth chatter about how they develop ideas and discussing how they created guitar riffs for some of their classic songs. Each immediately falls into their appropriates space in history: Jimmy Page is clearly the Rock God and the most proficient, the idol to the other two; The Edge takes his spot as the ever creative sideman; and Jack White is the brash young new comer trying to prove himself, evidenced by an early statement of his in the film, “I’m basically going to trick them into teaching me all their tricks.” The doc also branches out into side chapters, focusing on the story of each musician, their beginnings and growth and how they manipulate the guitar to do what they want it to do.

Jimmy Page is the soft-spoken, English gentleman, distinguished and charming in his dialogue and demeanor. He takes us through his beginnings as an extensive and highly coveted studio guitarist, his start in The Yardbirds and finally his development in Led Zeppelin. We are given insight into his self taught hard rock techniques, a tour of his record collection and the sounds that inspired him as he sings a long to some of his favorite songs and air guitars the licks. We are then blessed with a tour of the country house in which the legendary Led Zeppelin IV was recorded followed by an impromptu version of “The Battle of Evermore” on his mandolin.

The Edge takes us back to U2’s roots through a tour of their old school, the room in which they practiced, and the concrete slab outside where they played one of their first shows. We then visit his studio littered with effects electronics, laptops, showing us just how he is truly a sonic effects architect, as Page describes him. He makes a poignant note in the film that is otherwise lacking in the documentary. He plays an incredible U2 anthem riff, and then unplugs everything to show that the actual riff is in fact bare bones, uninspiring and hardly worth note. It highlights exactly how he is able to turn that basic sound into something incredible, which shows why a guitarist himself is responsible for the sound on his instrument.

Jack White’s story takes us back to his Tennessee roots, how he prefers minimalism and despises the use of technology on such an instrument, all the while showing us that you need not more than a piece of wood, some wire, nails and a coke bottle to make an electric guitar. His intensity is displayed in concert footage whereby he strums the hell out of his guitar so hard that his hands bleed, red pouring all over his six string, while he continues to passionately drive the wires till the end of the tune.

The highlight of the film is the summit where the three meet, discuss and play and we note the personalities of all. Page steals the spotlight with his character and ability to play the guitar as an extension of himself, effortless, as if it’s another arm. The Edge is the modest instrumentalist, while White is the most aggressive bundled with the most attitude and urgency to show his worth. A smile inducing moment is that no matter how successful and prolific The Edge and White may be, when Page starts ripping out “Whole Lotta Love”, the other two grin like little boys, awe inspired by the Guitar God they have always idolized.

The film succeeds aesthetically as well, from featuring old concert footage, photos, and amazing close ups of various guitars, at smooth angles and vibrant colors, dents and bruises of love and use, broken strings and shining perspiration. It Might Get Loud is a light and insightful look at the electric guitar from three of it’s greatest handlers, that any rock aficionado or musician alike will take pleasure in.

Watch the trailer:

It Might Get Loud opens tomorrow, Friday, August 14, 2009.

It Might Get Loud: website | show times

The White Stripes have confirmed on their official website and MySpace that a live documentary of their 2007 tour of Canada will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 18. The film is entitled Under Great White Northern Lights and was filmed by Emmet Malloy, who worked previously with the band on promotional videos.

The tour took the band to every province and territory of Canada, and the documentary provides a unique profile of the band as they played crowds big and small across the Great White North. The film also includes moments from the on- and off-stage lives of siblings Jack and Meg White and shows they played on the tour at less traditional venues like as a bowling alley, on a boat, and on a city bus. The White Stripes’s 10th anniversary show played at the Savoy Theater, in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, was also filmed for this documentary.

Interested to find out more? Visit the White Stripes’s official website to view the Under Great White Northern Lights trailer and stills from the documentary.

The White Stripes: website | myspace